[ Reviewed by: Jay ] - [ Date: Thursday,
1st February, 2001 ]
Ummmm... the short form of the review is
"Superb!" Want more words? OK,
"Absolutely Superb!" Those of
you who just want to see the bottom line,
who always read the end of novels before
reading the beginning and middle, can now
do that download and begin playing. As for
the rest of you who would like a leeetle
teeeny bit more detail behind The Resident
SPQ2 Fiend's pronouncement...
Disclaimer/disclosure: I playtested this
map, as mentioned in the news item that
probably got you here. While I do not believe
that this leads me to excessive or even
any significant prejudice in its favor,
you may wish to keep this fact in mind,
at least until you can play it and judge
for yourself.
It's been quite a while since The Fiend
has been so immersed in a map, so much at
the edge of his seat. The first, last, and
greatest impression left is one of suspense.
"What foul monsters are waiting just
around the corner to eat my face? Oh, I
see. Now where can I get a new face?..."
Shaun Ross somehow manages to grab you by
the eyeballs and never let go. While The
FIend is normally something of a sneak,
he found himself positively oozing around
corners, trying to look in all directions
at once, ears cranked up on high gain, just
waiting to get hammered. What is it about
the map that does this? The Fiend is not
really sure, to be honest, but it has to
be a combination of factors.
First of all, if you have not read the
story, go do so now. It really sets the
stage well, and also provides a real warning
for you: enemies will appear in areas you
thought were cleared. Kona is nasty, mean,
and cruel, but he is not totally unfair:
the appearance is accompanied both by a
noise and a visual effect. You may recognize
the noise from DAV's Strogg Towers and Teleportation
System Complex. You will surely grow to
hate this noise... This use of (virtual)
teleporters allows Kona to play games with
monster placement that will guarantee that
even the best players will take damage regularly.
In all fairness, health is quite adequate
- though it never feels excessive - so aside
from getting killed out with great regularity,
you can get through the map OK. In fact,
the F1 computer pretty well sums it up:
your immediate task, all through, is "...survive...".
The rest of the architecture and environment
supports this feeling of impending doom
quite well. There are lots of dull reds,
greys, and blues. The castle formation is
not quite as rounded and flowing as with
Mel Soaring 5: Ancient Rigby, but it still
has an unearthly flavor to it, as is appropriate
for the stage set by the story. (No, I'm
not going to repeat the story here; go read
it for yourself!) I could not find any visual
flaws anywhere. If they exist, they are
too subtle for The Fiend. I never noticed
any slowdowns at all, though I admit I did
not test R-speeds. The layout is decidedly
odd, in that things twist and turn, transitioning
frequently between upper floor and what
turns out to be the ground floor. Doors
do not always open initially, but eventually
will do so later. There are only two doors
that require keys; the opening of the rest
appears to be related to the action and
progression in general. Every once in a
while, you will go through a door and think,
"...Oh, I've been here before from
the other side. So that's where that door
led to..." Game flow starts out pretty
linear, and in fact overall remains fairly
so, but Kona frequently provided different
(fairly short) passages around to the same
room, so it does not feel linear at all.
There are three secrets, and none of them
are needed, but the last one is decidedly
helpful in the end game. (Should I mention
the Invulnerability? Naaah, you'll find
out about it for yourself. Kona is NASTY!...)
Gameplay is outstanding. The new enemies
are tough, particularly the laser guards
and the ones with the blue ray and the boomerang
Ion Rippers. The enhanced Gladiators with
the shield and the Phalanx Particle Cannon
are incredibly tough, especially since the
Cannon is essentially a single-hit killer.
(Paradoxically enough, the Blaster really
is the best weapon against these beasts.
Just lure it into an open area, and circle-strafe
it until it goes down. That is, of course,
if you can find an open area, and if there
is only one of them...) The Iron Maidens
come with heat-seeking missiles, and it
is a real surprise to see that thing go
curving around as you are dodging - just
before you get nailed. The Brains, though,
are probably the nastiest. I'll save the
description to keep you in suspense. Monster
placement is excellent, and with the teleporter
effects, serves to heighten the suspense.
Though it has two levels, it is really the
main level (143 enemies on Medium Skill)
and the end game (less than 10 enemies).
The best part of the map, though, at least
by implication, is the final frame, which
contains the words "To be continued..."
The Fiend is tempted to buy a ticket to
New Zealand just to stand over Kona and
drool and gnash fangs until Kona creates
a successor map - in SPQ2, of course...
In the interest of space, and getting you
playing, I am going to stop here with a
summary note: this one may end up being
the best map of 2001. At the moment it is
one of my five favorite SPQ2 maps of all
time. At 5MB, it is an incredible bargain.
After you've played it, go tell Shaun "Kona"
Ross how much you enjoyed it.
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